


Call of the Sea

by LaNayruNova



Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler, 蒼き鋼のアルペジオ | Aoki Hagane no Arpeggio | Arpeggio of Blue Steel
Genre: Action/Adventure, Gen, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-02
Updated: 2015-09-02
Packaged: 2018-04-18 16:27:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4712657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaNayruNova/pseuds/LaNayruNova
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Fog. Where did they come from? Why did they come? Who sent them? All these questions and more will be answered in this ff story. Arpeggio of Blue Steel x Kuroshitsuji.  WIP.  Enjoy!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. On the Brink

By 2015, humans realized that they were in trouble. Pollution levels had reached record highs. All organizations dedicated to the task of solving this problem projected that the rate of global collapse would only increase with more births. Therefore governments across the world attempted to halt the birthrate (or at the very least keep it constant) while putting restrictions on factories and travel. The hope was that without these factors, there would be much less pollution tossed into the atmosphere. These regulations slowed the approach of self-destruction but it was not enough to stop the process completely. Collapse was inevitable. 

It was not until ten years later that the strains became too much for peace to last. Over that interval, water levels had risen ten feet driving billions of people inland. Without factories and international trade, there were not many opportunities for employment. Land was already scarce, food became a precious commodity. Many resorted to indoor gardens to prevent their limited crops from being looted. Crime rates, which were already high, rose in frequency and intensity. When that violence was not turned on one’s neighbors it turned on the government in bloody revolts. In their desperation, the fragile national governments turned against their allies in hopes of allocating more resources.

War spread across the globe faster than any epidemic which had ever struck the planet. Cities collapsed as bombs fell from the skies, all international trade ceased as governments eyed each other with growing suspicion, national armies swelled as each assured a ration of food for its soldiers, disease decimated whole villages as scientists and medical specialists focused their attentions on the war efforts. Meanwhile, water levels continued to rise submerging entire cities and displacing ever increasing amounts of people. By 2035, the entire population was reduced to a third of its original size and the available land by decreased by 5%. 

Less people to support meant that the war games ceased, people began adapting to the new terrain, commerce reestablished, and in the space of 15 years, a new world order emerged. Alliances were forged between warring nations and progress began again. The economy slowly but surely picked up again and wartime factories started to produce civilian products. Life returned more or less to normal. The birth restrictions were lifted and governments encouraged its subjects to resume their pre-war lifestyles. After all, with the current population, there would be virtually no strain placed on the Earth. The people agreed and so, the old ways returned.

Humanity emerged from the brink of self-destruction victorious and strong. They proved that they were resilient. Although many people were lost and much of the world’s creatures extinct, the race as a whole survived and that was enough. The waters were quickly navigated, the new shorelines mapped, and the oceans sailed. Satellite and underwater cables continued to serve in communication and people were happy to own the Earth again without having to worry about other countries or people attacking them. Port cities hummed with activity and laboratories dedicated themselves to research and medicine.

For this reason, when a battleship appeared in 2039 and sunk The Narwhal, a cargo ship carrying iron ore across the Pacific Ocean to Japan, everyone was stunned. Nations turned to each other, hackles already raised. The second ship to sink was cruise ship heading to Hawaii with 1323 passengers and crew only two days later. Still no country claimed the attacks. Suspicions were only thrown when reports of similar happenings in the other oceans reached the countries along the Pacific Ocean. At any rate, it became clear that no vessel was safe and each country armed their battleships and the fleets set sail with the task of eliminating the threat. 

The Mexican fleet was the first to encounter the mysterious attackers. The battle was fierce but quick with a solid loss for the Mexican fleet. The other fleets stopped to combine forces before engaging the aggressors after transmissions revealed that it was not a single ship but an entire fleet with weaponry that they had never seen. They were also protected by some sort of force field and appeared to be unmanned. Feeling confident that the combined forces would be enough to overpower the unclaimed fleet, they moved forward and confronted them only to be defeated. Before the last could be defeated, the news was transmitted and broadcast throughout the populated world. 

The fleet was one of many and made by something that most certainly was not human. No human had yet reached the capacity to produce that technology. Soon enough, these ships made their intentions clear. They would allow no ships to pass for any reason. Within months the seas were theirs and the flow of global communication crawled to a halt. Researchers and soldiers were once again pressed into service while all civilians continued on in a state resembling normal though most lived further inland. And so, the Fog claimed dominion over the seas while the human race longed for the call of gull.


	2. Between Heaven and the Deep Blue Sea

I-590 crawled along the streets of what used to be London’s East End. She liked trailing through the underwater city’s streets; it was quiet, calm, and sometimes she found some very interesting relics. Her favorite was the giant wheel whose topmost portion rose from the waters. During storms, the wheel would slowly turn acting like huge watermill. At the moment though I-590 was more interested in making her way to the open flats that once was Buckingham Palace. The building was more or less intact, though it lacked windows and as far as she knew anything of value. This port city had been evacuated and looted long before the Fog Fleets had arrived. 

It was a shame really; she would have liked to the city alive and full of people. It must have been extraordinary. Now the city was a graveyard of glass and steel. The heavy silence was only punctuated by the steady pulse of I-590’s sonar equipment. As always, there was nothing to be detected in the dead waters of London. Abandoned cars and boats rusted on the ocean floor, most completely covered by sand. Schools of fish scattered at her approach and peeked out from the relative safety of brick skeletons none of which had retained their roofs though her light had shown some with wood floors still in place though they were beginning to rot. 

Still she trudged forward, her engines upsetting the sediment burying the asphalt streets below. She traveled past office buildings serving as a hideout for all manner of sea creatures. Once upon a time they depended on the coral reefs which had died due to an increase in carbon dioxide saturation. Those that had survived the death of these precious ecosystems had resettled and took former human habitats as their own. It served them well in hiding from predators and there was plenty of food for them in these waters. Her lights fell upon a colony of blue crabs scuttling along the floor and into what was once a mall. 

A few minutes later the last of the stone giants fell away and she was in a wide expanse of emptiness. I-590 cut off her engines and coasted to a standstill in the middle of the expanse. She shone her lights on the bridge that she had always admired and observed it with fondness. The fallen angel, with his wings spread wide, still on his knees with his head bowed on the edge of the bridge. Even after searching the vast array of data that humans called the internet, she could not find how this statue came to be. It was a mystery even to them. 

Humans who called themselves art historians had researched the statue extensively. It was agreed, with some trepidation, that the Queen Victoria had it commissioned in 1888. Usually though, there would be more information. A sculptor, an exact date, a list of materials, and the name of the statue. There was nothing. All that could be determined is that in the aftermath of the Great Fire, the angel had been erected as a memorial for the lives lost. Her light turned shifted from the statue to the tower on the far side. Unlike the steel buildings, this stone one held firm. One day, many centuries from now when the water receded, it would still be there; a new mystery for humans of the distant future to solve. 

That is, if the human race survived. Somehow, I-590 didn’t think they would. She was certain that their end goal was the annihilation of the humans even if it was not directly caused by them. Surely they would run out of food in many places without access to international trade. But perhaps the humans were more resilient than the Fog gave them credit for. She had seen for herself the ingenuity of the people occupying the new coastal regions. They built fortified walls that ran to the ocean floor and towered over the crests. These walls served a dual purpose; it protected the low-lying cities from storm surges and from the Fog. 

As satellite communications were reestablished, she gathered more data about life behind those walls. Electricity was generated by soaring white wind turbines reflecting sunlight below it was it spun merrily. Green grass covered hills and the only blemish was the growing city closer to the water. Gray and white buildings spread along the shoreline, and underground dry docks housed what remained of the naval battleships. Fishing boats bobbed along the surface of the enclosed sea waters, free to continue the business the Fog had forbidden. 

She huffed as she stood on the observation, staring at the underwater city spread out before her morosely. I-590 knew that soon enough art and music would begin to flourish in those cities once more. But she would be here, under the waters surrounding the British Isles carrying out her directive and having only the crumbling architecture of a civilization whose time had passed. What she wouldn’t do to see an opera in person, or watch a movie, or read an actual book with pages that smelled like… She didn’t know; there was only so much data she could get without supplementing experience. After all, she couldn’t synthesize the smell of yellowing pages without the initial sensory input. I-590 stiffened for a moment and then froze altogether, pale green eyes anchored on the angel. 

“You called for me, Freya?” I-590 asked as she entered the Communication Link space. White light surrounded the shared space which was designed to resemble a children’s playground with a picnic table spread in between the swing set and the jungle gym. Two glasses of water sat on the wood table and Freya sat on the bench behind it. She gestured to the opposite bench and I-590 took her seat. 

“It’s been some time since I’ve last heard from you. It was getting lonely.” Freya twisted a loose curl red around a slender finger, her azure eyes focused on this task. “The others can be such a bore sometimes.” 

I-590 or Anna, she supposed, silently agreed. Very few of the fleet stationed around the British Isles had even formed mental models; they were only two of five. The other three however cared very little for social gatherings or fun. Anna didn’t care for social gatherings either to be honest but, on occasion, she found the cold depths lonely. “They are performing their duties admirably,” Anna defended quietly.

“Of course they are; I expect nothing less of Scarlet, Summer, and Tilly.” Freya sharply turned her eyes to Anna. “You, however, I have come to expect nothing from. Do you know when the last time you made a report was? SIX MONTHS AGO!” The table rattled as Freya slammed her hands down onto the surface. Anna didn’t blink; she merely looked thoughtful. 

“Summer, I know. Scarlet and Tilly must be the names 591 and 525 selected for themselves. Which is which?”

Freya’s eyes narrowed but she answered in huff anyway. 525 is Scarlet and 591 is Tilly; I chose their names.” 

“I see.” Anna lifted the glass and looked into the glass, her nose wrinkling a little. Water, so much water. She took a sip and then held the glass on her lap. It stood cool between her hands. “I have not made a report because nothing has changed. The humans remain behind their walls, no ships have strayed into the seas, and they have made no attempts at contact.” 

Freya hummed and went back to twirling her curl. “Well then, we have nothing to fear.” 

“No, not at the moment. All is well.” 

“I have heard reports from further out in our territory that there is a Fast Battleship out there. It is a Kongo-class.” 

“Kongo-class? So far from its station? Goodness, she belongs with the First Oriental Fleet stationed on the other side of the Pacific Ocean. What is she doing here?” Anna’s pale eyes widened in surprise which pleased Freya; it wasn’t often that she managed to get such a reaction from the submarine. 

Freya shrugged a shoulder. “Scarlet attempted to make contact but was rebuffed. It appears the Kongo has abandoned the Fog.” 

“Unfathomable,” Anna muttered. 

“Just be wary, she may prove to be a threat.”

Anna nodded her head and light blue bangs escaped from behind her ears. She pushed them back into place with an impatient sweep of her small hand. “I’ll keep a lookout as always.” 

“Good.” Freya watched a flower bobbing peacefully in the artificial grass for a moment before glancing up at Anna’s pensive face. “And do visit more. It gets awfully quiet out here. There aren’t even any gulls; just me and the endless open sea.” 

“Very well.” Anna terminated the connection and turned her eyes from the stone angel to the sunlight glimmering some distance above her. Perhaps some time in the open air would clear her mind and pass the time. Her engines roared into life and moments later she exploded onto the surface. Clouds drifted lazily across the rare blue sky and gulls cried as they flew between the highest points of what was London. The remains of these skyscrapers must be good places to make nests despite the lack of proper land. Anna tilted her head upwards and allowed the maritime air to cheer her. She couldn’t say why, but she had been dispirited lately. 

Her processors slowed as she cut off her engines once more, allowing herself to drift languidly along the surface. At times like this, she could almost forget about the Admiralty Code and her directive. She was not a weapon or a vessel, but a being – one of many – caught between Heaven and the deep blue sea. 

**Author's Note:**

> It’s fairly short, I know. Anyway, I just wanted to point out that this is grossly exaggerated in terms of the timescale. A change like that would take some time, probably much longer than the time I have here from warning point to collapse to stabilization. Well, I hope the prologue was OK even if it may have been pretty dry.


End file.
